What is soy sauce and where can you buy it?

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Recipes often call for soy sauce to add a hit of saltiness and umami but soy sauces vary hugely in flavour, so it pays to know what the brands you actually like the taste of, and when to use them.

Different types of soy sauce

Shoyu/Japanese soy sauce

Shoyu, Japanese soy sauce, tends to be clearer and thinner than Chinese and other Asian varieties. Kikkoman is the most well-known brand.

All-purpose soy sauce

All-purpose is darker than light soy, which actually has a saltier, sweeter flavour, though less colour. Use both for dipping and in recipes, depending on whether you are after colour (all-purpose) or saltiness (light).

Chinese soy sauce

Chinese soy sauce splits into light and dark categories: lighter soy has a more assertive flavour while dark has more colour and is thicker. If in doubt use light, although many recipes call for some of each to balance both colour and flavour.

Tamari

Tamari is a type of soy sauce originating from Japan. The main difference from other soy sauce is that it contains little to no gluten. It’s considered to be the ‘original’ Japanese soy sauce, since the recipe is closest to the soy sauce introduced to Japan from China. Tamari is fairly strong in flavour and can be used in both recipes and for dipping, often used for sashimi.